The PhD Thesis (Health Psychology Research and Professional Practice)
Project Specification
The project that is specified must be within the resources of both the School of Psychology and the supervisor’s own group, and include both quantitative and qualitative work. ‘Resources’ here means both academic and financial resources. If major equipment or other resources (e.g. survey materials and postage, travel costs) are needed, then either these resources must be already available to you, or a grant must be in place that will enable its purchase.
The exact title of the project is less relevant during the early stages of a PhD. All research work is progressive, and the title of the final thesis may be some way from the initial title as listed on the offer of a studentship. It would be quite a natural progression, therefore, for supervisors to be more directive in terms of direction of study during the first year of a PhD, but for the trainee to take increasingly more responsibility for research direction as they gain in experience and knowledge.
The Length
The maximum length of a thesis is 75,000 words (PhD; excluding references, bibliography, and Portfolio of Competence. The maximum length is 50,000 words if exiting at MPhil; excluding references, bibliography and Portfolio of Competence). Supporting factual information may be submitted for referencing in addition to the thesis itself which will be available to examiners and will form part of the record. Candidates who exceed the stipulated length will normally be required by the examiners to resubmit in a form which does not exceed the maximum length. A trainee may present a statement to the supervisor indicating that the thesis cannot be contained within the stipulated length for reasons relating to the subject material. The supervisor may then recommend to the Faculty Graduate School, before notice of submission, that a longer thesis be permitted.
The Format
Nearer the time of submission you should refer to a copy of the “Completion of Research Degree Candidature” booklet as this provides guidelines on the submission and layout of your thesis. A copy of this booklet is available from the University’s website (the relevant web address is detailed in the “University Regulations, Policies and Facilities” section of this handbook)
Normally a submitted thesis should contain materials for the equivalent of at least two publishable articles. While this is the general rule, there may be exceptions. Nevertheless, Psychology encourages research trainees to write up research for publication in collaboration with their supervisor. The Doctoral College offers support in the form of workshops devoted to article writing.
Declaration of Authorship
Theses at the time of submission should be accompanied by a signed declaration from the trainee that the material presented for examination is his/her own work and has not been submitted for any other award (and, where relevant, how it relates to a group project).